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Tag: creativity

I want to write a bit today about the four worlds of the Qabalistic Tree of Life. You see, things unfold in an orderly fashion on the Tree (for a more complete explanation of the Tree itself, my post on it is here). The Life Energy, God Consciousness, whatever you want to call it, unfolds gradually over the ten spheres of the tree. That’s just one kind of unfolding, though. Another type involves the energy’s evolution through the four worlds of [now, hang with me here, since the words may look a little funny]: Atziluth, Briah, Yetzirah, and Assiah. Anyway, there they are. Not so bad, eh?

Atziluth is the first world, if you will. That is to say, it’s the world that’s made of pure principles and archetypes. This is the ultimate raw material. It is the place of complete, yet abstract, conceptualization. Next comes the world of Briah, which is the creative world. Here, those first principles are grasped in such a way that they can be worked with in a creative (in all senses of the word) fashion. Third is Yetzirah. It is the world of Formation, where the creative energy is molded by thought and image, powered by desire. Finally comes Assiah, the manifest world. Here is where the principles, that have been acted upon by the creative urge and formed through the power of thought, actually come to be. It’s kind of, but not quite, like the matryoshka dolls in the picture.

No one of these worlds is superior to any other, as all are equally important. Reality as we know it, or however we conceive it to be, could not exist without the active involvement from all four of these entities. In the Tarot, the suit of Wands (element of Fire) is associated with Atziluth, Cups (element of Water) with Briah, Swords (element of Air) with Yetzirah, and Pentacles (element of Earth) with Assiah.

Everything in creation arises in the same way. Behind all our perceptions and experiences are first principles, creative energy, thoughtforms, and materiality. Part of the process of spiritual evolution is learning to see all of these at once, and understanding the principles or Cosmic truths that lie behind worldly appearances. [When I get to that point, I’ll let you know]